London Calling: The HiFi Show & AVEXPO
2002
(Note: All prices in US dollars unless otherwise noted.)
I'm a sucker for audio shows -- and I've always had a soft
spot for the one that Hi-Fi News puts on every September. Unlike CES and CEDIA,
it's open to the public and, unlike the not-the-Stereophile Show, it usually
features at least a few dreamers who own a table saw and an empty garage and think that
being an audio manufacturer sounds like a nice life.
This year, the HiFi Show & AVEXPO returned to its
Heathrow roots (it migrated to downtown London for a few years, but apparently it didn't
take) and, once again, occupied the Renaissance and Le Meridian hotels on Bath Road, hard
by the London Airport. I say the show once again occupied the Renaissance because
it is, technically, true. I've now attended the show four or five times and I think the
hotels involved have never had the same name twice, despite the fact that the location
never varies.
Confusing?
Not too bad -- just another example of the same-but-different
phenomenon that confronts any traveler who journeys from one to the other of these two
great countries separated by a common language.
Take the matter of my lodgings, for instance. At the
suggestion of renowned analog maven George Stanwick of Stanalog Imports, we checked into
the Ibis just down the road from the show -- it was cheap and quiet, after all.
Apparently, our British cousins pronounce that I-bis, with the accent on the pronounced
"eye." Every time I was asked for our local address, I responded pronouncing the
initial "i" like the one in "it" and noticed how distressed that
seemed to make my interlocutors. It was only a day or so before we left that I realized
people were hearing me say "the Abyss." Sounds, um, abysmal, don't it?
My first stop was the Rotel/B&W suite, where I eagerly
anticipated my first glimpse of the Signature 805 ($3500/pair), which seem poised to
replace my much-beloved Silver Signatures in the line's hierarchy. They sure are pretty,
but they weren't playing when I was there. On the other hand, Rotel shocked me with a
completely new line-up -- and it's available in sexy silver livery yet!
I snapped a picture, so I have proof I saw the new line,
but getting details wasn't easy. The skid containing the new Rotel literature was solid
gone -- vanished into thin air. But I persevered and finally got the skinny. There's a
full-featured 40Wpc integrated, the RA-02 ($499), which sports two sets of speaker
outputs, defeatable tone controls, an MM phono section, preamp outputs, and even a
handy-dandy 12V trigger. The RCD-02 single-disc CD player ($499) is based on the
Burr-Brown 1732 chip (and thus sports HDCD capabilities). Its transport is listed as
"low resonance" and it boasts a digital output. The RT-02 AM/FM tuner ($299) is
packed with features, including 20 presets, RDS, and remote control (I love tuners with
remote control -- it makes so much sense). Overall, the line seems to borrow a lot of
functionality from the HT world -- although not at the expense of two-channel musical
performance, I hasten to add. If you're in the market for well-built, affordable specialty
audio gear, you should probably look into the new line at your local Rotel dealer.
Rotel |
Wilson Benesch
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I stuck my head in the Wilson Benesch room
and what it heard dragged the rest of me in as well. The WB guys were playing their
least-expensive loudspeaker, the extraordinary Arc "micro two-way loudspeaker"
($3200/pair). These babies are the rare stand-mounted loudspeaker that includes the stand.
(Actually, you can buy them without stands, but the Arcs have down-firing twin
ports, so you need to be careful choosing a stand that won't interfere with them -- far
easier to just consider the stand and speakers a matched set.)
The Arcs are biwirable, have WB-sourced drivers (a 7"
WB Tactic compacted polystyrene mid/bass driver and a 1" custom-made hand-painted
silk-dome tweeter). Add a first-order crossover, silver-plated wiring, curved carbon-fiber
cabinet panels, and exquisite veneers and you have a pretty special speaker.
As proof, they sounded absolutely scrumptious in a
hotel-room demo. Driven by Audionet electronics from Germany, they were champions in the
pace'n'timing sweepstakes and low-level resolution derby. They produced some of the most
carefully crafted sound I heard during the entire show -- everything was balanced and
proportionate.
And did I mention relaxed and natural? I've gotta get my
hands on a pair of these. (John Marks assures me their bigger three-way siblings are even
mo' betta.)
As I wandered down the hall, I was pulled into AudioFreaks'
room by the sounds of an amazing performance of Cindy Lauper's "Time After Time"
on trumpet. Avalon Avatars (I think -- I have to confess they all look alike to me)
were doing the honors, driven by a Karan Acoustics KA S 270 stereo amplifier (£7000), a
handmade 270Wpc solid-state power amp from Yugoslavia that boasts a power supply
"with minimal internal resistance." I know almost nothing about the Karan
Acoustics line, since it isn't imported to the States (yet), but it sounds tube-like and
detailed.
As we listened to "Time After Time," I went crazy
trying to figure out who was playing -- it was live and the band was extremely sensitive
to the soloist's slightest dynamic and rhythmic changes. I've heard Miles' performance of
the piece, of course, but as pretty as that is, I've never quite felt the sense of depth
in the tune that Miles seemed to see -- here, the soloist made me hear the piece as though
it were new and, yes, it was beautiful, but also wistful and contemplative. You probably
won't be surprised to learn that it was Miles, from a live disc that AudioFreaks
was exclusively distributing at the show. Sure wish I'd bought it, because I've lost my
notes on it and have no inkling of how to come by another copy. I guess that Karan
Acoustics amp was doing something right.
The Classé room was flooded with beautiful golden light
from the soft British autumn outside, and I lingered for a moment just to be in such a
delightful setting. I was in deep contemplation of the Omega Reference system, which
consists of the Omega SACD-1 CD/SACD player ($12,000), Omega Pre-Amplifier ($11,000) and
Omega Mono power amplifiers, a pair of 500Wpc monoblocks ($12,000/ea), when it began to
seep into my consciousness that the music I was listening to -- Shostakovich's 11th
symphony -- sounded awfully alive and present.
In fact, as I stood there transfixed, I began to realize
that the music was really something special. I glanced back at the equipment rack and
noticed -- how could I have missed them? -- a couple of road cases, including one
that sported a computer hard drive, feeding into a dCS D-to-A converter whose input
readout read "DSD."
Just then, a pleasant-looking chap wandered over and
inquired, "What do you think?"
"We're listening to a DSD master?"
"Yes, do you like it?"
"Well, I know there are some engineering types who
claim it’s a dodgy technology, but just listen to it -- it really does something
special, don't you think?"
"Oh, yes. I certainly think so."
 Fixated on the sound and the DSD rig,
I hadn't really paid any attention to my host, so as I turned to face him, I performed the
audio show "eyedip" maneuver, flicking my gaze discreetly (I hoped) over his
name badge. It said, "Tony Faulkner."
I was talking to Tony freaking Faulkner!
What do you say when you meet one of your heroes -- a man
responsible for many, many hours of listening pleasure? I was hoping for something
dignified, something literate, yet restrained.
But what I actually blurted -- swept up in the inexorable
pulse of the tympani and skittish rat-a-tat of the snare drums -- was, "Boy,
this music really makes you want to go out and fight some Nazis, eh?"
Faulkner looked a tad taken aback, but then glanced around
the room and, suppressing a smile, allowed as to how it was true.
What a nice man -- he even gave me a copy of the CD (Shostakovich:
Symphony No.11. London Symphony Orchestra, Rostropovich, cond. [LSO Live LSO 0030]),
which doesn't quite match his DSD master, but which still sounds pretty doggoned
spectacular.
The hi-fi was really good, too.
Chord was showing off new gear that simply dripped with
sex-appeal. There was a seriously nifty A/V processor, the DSP 8000 7.1 (price TBD,
approximately $15,000), which ought to cause some serious HT night-sweats. And then there
was a whole line of goodies (the Choral line) based on the same industrial design as the
company's coquettish little DAC-64. In fact, Chord has designed a rack for the little
suckers (13.4" by 2.4" by 6.8") and the combo is drop-dead sexy (as you can
see from my snapshot which shows four Mezzo stereo power amps on top of a DSP 8000 7.1).
The new products include the Prima preamp, the 30Wpc Mezzo stereo power amp, the DAC-64,
and the Symphonic phono section (all price TBD, approximately $3000). All use Chord's
ultra-high-frequency power-supply technology, balanced operation, balanced and
single-ended inputs and outputs, and, of course, that ultra-smooth industrial design. The
company is developing a CD/DVD transport to match.
The HiFi Show & AVEXPO had fewer of the audio dreamers
this year than it has had in the past, and I, for one, missed them. But they weren't
completely MIA -- there was Penaudio, a Finnish speaker company looking to expand its
market reach. Penaudio's speakers are the work of Sami Penttilä and they are handsome,
but quite small -- at least the Charm and Charisma are. The Charisma are stand-mounted
two-ways with a 3/4" cloth tweeter and a 4 3/4" custom-built woofer. The
Charm is an active stereo subwoofer sporting a pair of 8 1/2" long-throw
aluminum woofers. The units are very good looking, but those pretty boxes hide very
serious construction. The Charisma is available in a standard configuration (featuring
high-purity copper internal wiring) for £3000/pair (stands included) or with full silver
wiring for £6000/pair. The Charm will set you back £2000.
Chord |
Penaudio
|
They had surprisingly full-range sound,
given their size, and they were quite seductive on the Cantus recordings I auditioned --
they hung the voices in the air about 3' off the floor and rendered the acoustics of the
Chapel of the Good Shepherd at Shattuck-St. Mary's School with great precision. I'd love
to audition them at greater length, because they were quite impressive, but they
seemed a tad shy of the sort of low-level resolution one would expect from components in
their price range. Of course, as always with shows, I could be blaming the speakers for
problems elsewhere in the chain or even the setting -- suffice it to say that Mr.
Penttilä is definitely ready to play in the big leagues and that you should
remember his name. You'll almost certainly be hearing it again.
Speaking of Finland, I got to see Anssi Hyvonen and hear
the $3250/pair Amphion Creons again. These speakers just tickle the bejesus out of me --
they are great looking, seem too affordable to be real, and measure and sound like some
kind of audio wet dream.
Anssi was driving them with Dominique Giner's Metronome
T1-i Integrated CD player and a couple of brand new Rogue Audio components, the $2399
Magnum 99 preamplifier and a pair of 120W M-120 monoblocks ($3495/pair).
Wow! The imaging was so solid, you could have cracked an
egg on it. I want a pair of these loudspeakers. Anssi and I traded favorite tracks
back and forth a few times, then he made an announcement. "Although I am a
two-channel type of a guy, we have come to the time when I must demonstrate how well these
speakers do in a multimedia presentation."
As I glanced around the room, looking for extra
loudspeakers, Anssi cued a CD and opened the curtains behind the loudspeakers. As Peter,
Paul & Mary's "Leaving on a Jet Plane" filled the room, a Skybus 727-200
compliantly taxied into view on the Heathrow runway behind the hotel.
Ah, those mischievous Finns . . .
Sugden was showing a nifty little addition to its Bijoux
line, a jewel-like class-A 15Wpc stereo power amp (approximately $2000). We heard the
complete line driving a pair of ProAc Tablette Reference 8 Signatures ($1700/pair) and I
was captivated -- the Bijoux are real hi-fi, only cuter. If you're having trouble getting
audio gear vetted for the living room, show your decorator/roommate/current lifetime
companion the Bijoux. You'll be in like Flynn.
 I'd wanted to hear the Nearfield
Acoustics Pipedreams in the Meridian's Martin Brewster room, since they had done certain
things so well at HE2002 -- especially since the speakers were being driven by some very
impressive-looking GamuT S300 amplifiers, said to cost £20,000. Unfortunately the plattdeutsche
gentleman in charge of the room was in the midst of a full-scale meltdown, insulting
customers and playing music too loud to tolerate, so we joined the mass exodus from the
room without mentioning that it sounded as though he'd blown a driver. Pity, somebody
spent a lot of money so he could antagonize all those potential customers.
After that we were in need of a real palate cleanser and we
got it in Absolute Sounds' Krell room, where a pair of LAT-1s (driven by -- what else? --
a Krell Master Reference system) were playing a live Diana Krall disc. Yeah, yeah, people
say the LAT-1s cost too much money -- and I sure can't afford a pair -- but when it comes
to reproducing the sound of a bass line without added emphasis or cabinet coloration, I've
never heard their equal. When I say that those babies simply don't sound like other
loudspeakers, I mean that as the highest-possible praise.
And last, but far from least, there was the Audio Reference
room, which paired the Cabasse Kara loudspeakers ($14,500/pair) with Halcro's dm68
monoblocks ($34,995/pair). What a way to leave the show! Of course, a lot of people are
calling the dm68 the best amp ever, but brother, have you ever tried listening to an
amplifier by itself? The Cabasse speakers simply blew me away with their tonal accuracy
and precise soundstaging. My wife thinks they look weird, but they kind of remind me of
the costume Peter Gabriel used to wear for "Supper's Ready," back when he was
fronting Genesis, so I like 'em.
And, if I keep pleading with Dale Fontenot, Cabasse's US
importer, I just might wear him down to the point of delivering a pair for review. Life is
good.
...Wes Phillips
wes@onhifi.com
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